I can see now that my first book was a copyright violation. But in fourth grade, all I cared about was jumping inside the world of the board game in front of me and exploring the emotional and geographical terrain of the places I was rushing by when it was my turn. So I drew close facsimiles of their intellectual property and I wrote my own story.

It’s all I’ve ever wanted to do—to live inside a story that makes sense.

My own story starts in Columbus, Ohio. I was born and raised here, ran from here, and returned here. Grief and loss have hijacked my story more than once. My older sister Kris died of metastatic breast cancer when she was only 35. My parents died 37 days apart in the summer of 2020. While everyone else was battling, Covid, we were up against my dad’s lung disease and my mom’s Alzheimers. Those years of caregiving, grieving, and meaning-making reinforced for me how important it is that we keep each other company as we go through our hardest days. They also gave me a pile of evidence joy is resilient and love beats death.

My years in theological education gave me language and frames for the biggest stories we all tell. I earned a Masters of Divinity and a Doctor of Ministry from Emmanuel Christian Seminary at Milligan College. Those years also gave me time to sit in the shadows of mountains and listen to bluegrass singers tell the truth.

I have 20 years of experience telling stories and adding texture to them. I’ve spent part of my career doing this in churches through spoken words, media, drama, and conversation. I’ve also translated this work into workshops and creative work in corporate environments. I’ve watched rooms filled with middle schoolers and rooms filled with executives become more themselves together through the sharing of stories.